In response to issues raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and recommendations made by the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee, the bill amends the

National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011

to: add an objects clause; clarify which laws of the states and territories apply to registered training organisations; clarify the circumstances when the Regulator can amend an accredited course without an application being made by the course owner; ensure that a person is aware of the cancellation of the qualification or statement of attainment before being liable for a civil penalty; limit the use of force; require authorised officers to possess certain experience, training and qualifications; enable information sharing with the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency; and make technical amendments.

in relation to: the thresholds set for the grant of a patent; and exempting patent infringement of research and experimental activities;

Patents Act 1990

and

Trade Marks Act 1995

to: reduce delays in finalising patent and trade mark applications; enable trade marks and patent attorneys to practise through a corporate structure; and extend to trade marks and patent attorneys the same ‘advice’ privilege available to legal professionals;

Copyright Act 1968

and

Trade Marks Act 1995

in relation to the enforcement regime for counterfeit trade mark and copyright goods; and

Designs Act 2003

,

Patents Act 1990

,

Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994

and

Trade Marks Act 1995

to provide that the intellectual property rights system can adapt to the electronic and global business environments.

Establishes a national framework to manage the environmental, health and safety impacts of manufactured goods and materials across the lifecycle of a product, including the impacts associated with the disposal of a product.

to make administrative changes to the FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP programs by: requiring the minister to be satisfied that a body corporate is ‘fit and proper’; providing flexibility in the ‘principal purpose’ requirements; enabling the minister to give qualified approvals; providing for procedural fairness before a provider’s approval is suspended; and including new decisions which are subject to review.

Further to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Bill 2010 [2011] and National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2010 [2011], the bill makes consequential amendments to the

Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000

,

Higher Education Support Act 2003

and

Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000

to provide that the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator framework interacts with other regulatory frameworks and funding programs.

Introduced with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Bill 2010 [2011], the bill provides for transitional arrangements to: continue existing registrations of vocational education and training providers; continue existing course accreditations; enable certain decisions of the regulator to be reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; enable staff of referring state and territory regulators to transfer to the national regulator; continue legal proceedings; and make miscellaneous amendments.

Introduced with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2010 [2011], the bill establishes the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator as an independent statutory body to regulate the vocational education and training sector and provides for: registration of training organisations; accreditation of courses; powers to issue and cancel qualifications; investigative powers; enforcement; Commonwealth-State arrangements; terms and conditions of employment, functions and powers of the regulator and two commissioners; staff and consultants; offences and civil penalties; reporting requirements; strategic and annual reporting plans; and the establishment of the Australian Quality Training Framework to provide for national standards for registered training organisations by legislative instrument.